Draper Temple

At the end of January, we were able to attend the Draper Temple Open House. It was a great experience. (Jumble had an after-school band rehearsal so she couldn't go with us but she will get to go soon.) They have come a long way since I went with my family (when I was ten years old) to the Logan temple open house prior to it's being re-dedicated following renovations. That involved standing in a line for 3 hours in the slush. Yes, it was slushing that cold January day and we had lived in Utah a little over a month so we were not used to the cold (I'm still not.) It was totally worth it, but I am glad the church has figured out how to operate open houses so that the attendees don't have to endure such hardships for the privilege of visiting the temple! They now have you meeting at one of four different area chapels where you view a video and then you are taken on a charter bus to the temple:

The reservations are coordinated so that only a manageable amount of people show up at any given time, but even if you did have to wait in line, you are escorted from the bus directly into a heated and lighted tent that extends from the bus curb to the doors of the temple. Afterwards, you go into another tent that leads to an open house with nice displays and refreshments at the adjoining church. After that, another heated tent serves as the waiting area for the charter bus trip back to the chapel where your car is parked:

So you stay warm, dry, fed, and uplifted for the entire experience. The kids really loved the temple and it is so very beautiful and feels so very peaceful. The stained glass, the paintings on the ordinance room walls, the carved wood--all so beautiful. All any of us can say about the celestial room is WOW!! The only sad thing about how organized they were is that you never really saw the outside of the temple itself since you were in a tent the entire time you were on the temple grounds. So we weren't able to get a family photo in front of the temple. That will have to wait until after the dedication. This temple is only about 20 minutes drive from our home--and the Mt. Timp temple is even closer--7 minutes from our house. Definitely a nice thing about living in Utah.

The Draper Temple is up on the side of the mountain. As we drove up to the chapel where we started our tour, I could see out the window of the car the Jordan River Temple and the Oquirrh Mountain Temple (which will be completed and dedicated later this year.) I am pretty certain that you will be able to stand on the temple grounds of the Draper Temple and see the Jordan River and Oquirrh Mountain temples. That will be amazing! You may be able to find a spot where you could get a photo of three temples in one shot. Temples dotting the earth--prophecy fulfilled. So cool.